Sauter (Ironside Academy, #3)(92)

“Illy.” Theodore stepped ahead of the others, a careful, cautious mask over his features. “Are you hurt?”

“Hurt?” She snapped out the word in a confused way, unable to look at him for long. “No, no. I’m just climbing.” She turned away, wishing she could draw a full breath, but her chest was too tight.

“Isobel.” It was Cian this time, his voice low and regretful. It threatened to break her heart, and that made her furious. Since when did she care about Cian so much? Sure, they went through a lot together on the settlement tour—

“Yes, we did.”

She froze, her head snapping up to the climbing wall, the back of her neck prickling. “Did I just say that out loud?”

“Just that we went through a lot together. Do you think you could step away from the wall and talk to us for a little bit?”

She winced, the panic flaring bigger and brighter, her breath a rasp. “N-No, I can’t, sorry. I’m training.”

“What’s going on?” Gabriel’s voice carried through the room. “We could literally follow her scent all the way here.”

Gabriel.

Gabriel could read minds.

She knew the abilities of everyone else. He was the only unknown.

“Why don’t you tell me?” she shot back, spinning on her foot and glaring at him.

He didn’t look guilty. Only considering.

Elijah, who had followed him into the room, narrowed an icy gaze on Isobel’s face. “You know that thing I don’t use anymore, Isobel?”

His power?

She nodded once, short and sharp, sensing a reprimand incoming.

“Gabriel is the same.”

Great. Now she had nobody except herself to be angry at again. Unless …

She sought out Moses, wishing she could do something with the furious energy bubbling in her veins.

“Oh, we’re getting into it, are we?” He stayed where he was, but it looked like he had shifted his stance. It was eerily similar to something Niko did just before he pounced. She didn’t like that she could see the confusion and alarm bleeding out of the darkness of Moses’ glare. She didn’t like that she could feel it cracking against her body like a whip, opening up wounds so that it could bleed into her, infecting her with her own forced empathy.

She tore her eyes away from him before she could crack open her walls and suck his turmoil into herself. “No,” she relented. “Sorry.”

Anger. Moses didn’t like that she wasn’t rising to the occasion and fighting with him.

Too bad.

She turned to the wall again and reached for the first handhold, hoisting herself up.

“All right, that’s enough.” Niko appeared beside her, plucking her away from the wall as though she was just a bug. He set her back onto her feet and caught her face in his hands. “What’s wrong?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Oscar moving to her backpack and pulling it open. He picked up something from inside, raising it to his nose, the object still hidden.

The crystal.

Fucking hell.

She tore out of Niko’s hold and tried to grab onto the wall again, but he plucked her off as easily as he had the first time, setting her back onto her feet.

“Isobel.” Oscar’s Alpha voice lashed through the room, whipping against her mind. “Come with me.”

She didn’t have an ounce of strength to resist him, but at least he was leaving the room and walking away from the others. She stripped off her harness and tossed it aside as she trailed after him.

“Just her and Cian,” he barked over his shoulder as he flung open the door again.

She followed a good few strides behind the two Alphas, her eyes on the backs of Oscar’s shoes as they passed out of the fitness centre. Cian was texting as he walked while Oscar glared everyone out of their path. Her first thought when they reached the family centre was that they were dragging her to her father for punishment, and she let out a low whimper as she started dragging her feet. They both stopped and turned around, taking several steps toward her. She scattered backwards, holding out her hands.

Cian … golden, beautiful Cian … had suddenly become as dangerous to her as Oscar.

Cian’s jaw was flexing, his eyes burning, but Oscar only nodded, spinning on his heel and continuing into the family centre. She huddled into one corner of the elevator as they leaned against the opposite side, and then before she knew it, they were standing outside the room she usually met Teak and Charlie in.

Cian knocked, but there was no answer.

“Sorry!” a harried voice called out as the elevator dinged again. Teak and Charlie were rushing toward them. “Got a bit held up. Hi, sweetheart.” Teak gave her a brief smile before unlocking the door and motioning her inside.

Cian moved to follow her, but Teak shook her head, her smile suddenly disappearing. “You two can wait downstairs.”

Isobel sank into her usual chair, her body on autopilot. The panic hadn’t disappeared, but it had lessened as Oscar commanded her body, simmering away somewhere in the back of her mind. Now she was just going through the motions.

“You okay?” Charlie squeezed her hand, kneeling by Isobel’s chair. “Want some water?”

Isobel raised her head, glancing between Charlie and Teak—who had moved to the other side of her chair, picking up her free hand and just … waiting. Waiting for her to talk.